IBM: A Habitual Dividend Hiker

Big Blue has upped its payout by 800% since the start of 2000. Increases also from Exxon, Chevron, Deluxe Corp., and a bunch of financials.

Enhanced dividends got a nod last week from no fewer than three Dow Jones industrials. The trio: ExxonMobil (ticker: XOM) and Chevron (CVX), which are the two largest U.S. oil companies by market value, and International Business Machines (IBM).

Sweetening its payout for the 32nd year in a row, ExxonMobil announced a 9.5% hike, to 69 cents a share from 63 cents. That will cost the company an additional $1 billion in dividends annually and give its shares a current yield of 2.7%. Exxon has been paying dividends without...